IRS Owes MN Residents Over $14M In Unclaimed Refunds Soon To Expire

MINNESOTA — The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) owes tens of thousands of Minnesotans money from 2020, but people need to act fast to make sure they don't miss out on their unclaimed cash, agency officials said last week.

Nearly 940,000 people across the U.S. have unclaimed refunds for the tax year 2020, but face a May 17 deadline to submit their tax returns.

The IRS estimates that 13,500 people in Minnesota are owed a total of $14,043,900 in 2020 refunds, which comes out to an average of $818 per person.

“There’s money remaining on the table for hundreds of thousands of people who haven’t filed 2020 tax returns,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel in a news release.

“We want taxpayers to claim these refunds, but time is running out for people who may have overlooked or forgotten about these refunds. There’s a May 17 deadline to file these returns so taxpayers should start soon to make sure they don’t miss out.”

Under federal law, taxpayers typically have three years to file and claim their tax refunds. If they don’t file within three years, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury.

However, the normal three-year window for 2020 unfiled returns was extended to May 17, 2024, due to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency.

"People faced extremely unusual situations during the pandemic, which may have led some people to forget about a potential refund on their 2020 tax returns," Werfel added.

Those who miss out on filing a tax return can lose more than just their refund of taxes withheld or paid during 2020. Many workers may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which in 2020 was worth as much as $6,660 for taxpayers with qualifying children.

The IRS provides the following guidance for people who still need to file 2020 tax returns:

Request copies of key documents: Taxpayers who are missing Forms W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 for the years, 2020, 2021 or 2022 can request copies from their employer, bank or other payers.

Use Get Transcript Online at IRS.gov. Taxpayers who are unable to get those missing forms from their employer or other payers can order a free wage and income transcript at IRS.gov using the Get Transcript Online tool. For many taxpayers, this is by far the quickest and easiest option.

Request a transcript. Another option is for people to file Form 4506-T with the IRS to request a “wage and income transcript.” A wage and income transcript shows data from information returns received by the IRS, such as Forms W-2, 1099, 1098, Form 5498 and IRA contribution information. Taxpayers can use the information from the transcript to file their tax return. But plan ahead – these written requests can take several weeks; people are strongly urged to try the other options first.

You can file your tax returns for free on the IRS website.